Comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli is scheduled to stand trial next year after pleading not guilty to 20 charges, including rape, sexual assault, and indecent assault, involving five women over a 16-year period. The charges span incidents between 2006 and 2022 at locations such as BBC Studios at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow, Yes Bar in Glasgow, and other sites in Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, and elsewhere.
Details of the Charges
Kohli, 57, faces five charges of rape involving the same woman in 2020 and 2021 in the Glasgow area. He is also accused of multiple sexual assaults, indecent assaults, breach of the peace, indecent communication, and assault. One charge alleges that he indecently assaulted a woman at BBC Studios between 2006 and 2008 by seizing and squeezing her buttock and placing his arms around her body. Another charge claims he indecently assaulted the same woman at the Radisson Hotel by repeatedly rubbing her back and touching her hair during that period.
Additional allegations include sexually assaulting a woman at Yes Bar in Glasgow in December 2016 by seizing her, placing his arms around her, and kissing her on the mouth. He is also accused of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by pursuing the same woman and making sexual remarks at the bar on the same day.
Legal Proceedings and Defence
During a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, Kohli's legal team lodged special defences of consent for some charges. Lord Rennucci accepted the special defence and set a further hearing for September 10, 2024, with the trial scheduled to begin on October 1, 2025, expected to last eight days at the High Court in Glasgow. Kohli, who has appeared on TV shows including Celebrity Big Brother, The One Show, Celebrity MasterChef, and Newsnight Review, and hosted shows on BBC Radio 4, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
